Workout Tips for Muscle Awareness and Strengthening

Muscles Strengthening Tips

Benefits of Using Weights for Workouts

This workout centers on muscle awareness, endurance and very basic strengthening for the muscles of the arms, back, chest and shoulders. The movements are made to target each of the significant muscles with light dumbbells, making this a fantastic program for novices who have never lifted a weight.

When it concerns muscle conditioning, many women prefer to focus on the legs, buttocks and abdomen. But for daily life, it's far more helpful for women to develop the upper body.

When you're lifting the weights, it's important that you actually focus on the movement of your muscles: You need to produce constant tension by consciously contracting the muscle during the exercise. This isn't the most efficient or time-saving strength-building method; for that you will have to graduate to heavier weights and, in some instances, position yourself otherwise as you do the exercise. Each time you learn a new movement, whether it is a biceps curl or the latest dance step, your brain should first learn which muscles to "fire" to do the action correctly. An important part of strength training is using the muscles designated to do the work. New movements make the formation of neural pathways through the brain and spinal cord to the muscle. These pathways order which muscles to fire, or contract. The fancy term for this operation is "neuromuscular facilitation," and that's what you will be doing as you learn new exercises.

By using light weights, you can center on using the correct muscles. Although the neural pathways will be different when you start this program in the weight room or your home gym, this workout may be a much more pleasurable introduction to exercise. You can undergo the basic learning process lifting a three-pound weight instead of a heavier barbell.

Keep in mind that as you adapt to the movements and move on to heavier weights or machines, you'll use your muscles differently and forge new neuromuscular pathways. For instance, when you perform the cable row in the gym, there is resistance formed by the cable in front of you. This makes your back and upper arm muscles to work against the resistance as you draw the cable. In a standing position, hold onto two dumbbells and draw them back in a like motion, the greatest resistance will be from gravity pulling down on the dumbbells, a resistance that involves the muscles on the front of the shoulder much more than the back muscles. Your back muscles would work mostly to steady your arm position. You can step-up your muscle awareness, however, by also making your own tension in these muscles as you execute the movement.

You can have a great start on developing the muscles that are crucial to your posture and your daily life by using the ABC'S of strength training the upper body. Savor the learning and the experience of feeling stronger. You might find that you are suddenly more aware of muscles that have never before received your focused attention.